Category: vocabulary

the reverting of land to a king or lord in certain cases, early 14c., from Anglo-French eschete (late 13c.), Old French eschete “succession, inheritance,” literally “that which falls to one,” noun use of fem. past participle of escheoir “happen, befall, occur, take place; fall due; lapse (legally),” from Late Latin *excadere “to fall out,” from Latin ex “out, away” (see ex-) + cadere “to fall” (from PIE root *kad- “to fall”). As a verb, from late 14c. Related: Escheated; escheating. Late Latin *excadere represents a restored form of excidere, which yielded

c. 1300, “story, narration,” from Old French prose (13c.), from Latin prosa oratio “straightforward or direct speech” (without the ornaments of verse), from prosa, fem. of prosus, earlier prorsus “straightforward, direct,” from Old Latin provorsus “(moving) straight ahead,” from pro “forward” (from PIE root *per- (1) “forward”) + vorsus “turned,” past participle of vertere “to turn” (from PIE root *wer- (2) “to turn, bend”).

“Good prose, to say nothing of the original thoughts it conveys, may be infinitely varied in modulation. It is only an extension of metres, an amplification of harmonies, of which even the best and most varied poetry admits but few.” [Walter Savage Landor, “Imaginary Conversations”]

Meaning “prose writing; non-poetry” is from mid-14c. The sense of “dull or commonplace expression” is from 1680s, out of earlier sense “plain expression” (1560s). Those who lament the want of an English agent noun to correspond to poet might try prosaist (1776), proser (1620s), or Frenchified prosateur (1880), though the first two in their day also acquired in English the secondary sense “dull writer.”

“favoritism shown to relatives, especially in appointment to high office,” 1660s, from French népotisme (1650s), from Italian nepotismo, from nepote “nephew,” from Latin nepotem (nominative nepos) “grandson, nephew” (see nephew). Originally, practice of granting privileges to a pope’s “nephew” which was a euphemism for his natural son.

“the state of being an accomplice, partnership in wrongdoing or an objectionable act,” 1650s, from French complicité, from Old French complice “accomplice, comrade, companion” (14c.), from Late Latin complicem, accusative of complex “partner, confederate,” from Latin complicare “to fold together,” from com “with, together” (see com-) + plicare “to fold, weave” (from PIE root *plek- “to plait”). Compare accomplice.

“depreciative, disparaging, giving a low or bad sense to,” 1888, from French péjoratif, from Late Latin peiorat-, past-participle stem of peiorare “make worse,” from Latin peior “worse,” perhaps originally “stumbling,” from PIE *ped-yos-, suffixed (comparative) form of *ped- “to walk, stumble, impair,” from root *ped- “foot.” As a noun, “a word that depreciates the sense,” from 1882. English had a verb pejorate “to worsen” from 1640s.

late 14c., “to bear, endure (grief, pain, etc.; sense now obsolete), from Old French comporter “endure, admit of, allow; behave” (13c.) and directly from Latin comportare “to bring together, collect,” from com “with, together” (see com-) + portare “to carry” (from PIE root *per- (2) “to lead, pass over”).

Meaning “to agree, accord, be suitable” (with with) is from 1580s. Meaning “to behave, conduct” (with a reflexive pronoun) is from 1610s. Related: Comported; comporting.

“passionate ardor in pursuit of an objective or course of action,” late 14c., from Old French zel (Modern French zèle) and directly from Late Latin zelus “zeal, emulation” (source also of Italian zelo, Spanish celo), a Church word, from Greek zēlos “ardor, eager rivalry, emulation,” “a noble passion” [Liddell & Scott], but also “jealousy;” from PIE *ya- “to seek, request, desire.” From mid-15c. as “devotion.”

early 14c., “member of a militant 1st century Jewish sect which fiercely resisted the Romans in Palestine,” from Late Latin zelotes, from Greek zēlōtēs “one who is a zealous follower,” from zēloōn “to be zealous,” from zēlos “zeal” (see zeal). Extended sense of “a fanatical enthusiast” first recorded 1630s (earlier in this sense was zelator, mid-15c.).